EpiCept Corporation has announced the results of scientific studies that demonstrate that Azixa (MPC-6827) is effective in treating multiple types of human tumours in animal models, reveal a mechanism by which MPC-6827 exerts its effects, and show that MPC-6827 is not affected by cellular proteins known to be involved in cancer drug resistance. The study results appear in the June 15, 2007 edition of Cancer Research, a journal published by the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).

"The results of this study demonstrate the potential of Azixa (MPC-6827) to offer significant anti-tumour activity, even in tumours expressing multi-drug resistant phenotypes," remarked Jack Talley, president and chief executive officer. "These data further exemplify the potential of our proprietary Anti- cancer Screening Apoptosis Programme, through which this compound was discovered."

The cancer research authors describe results showing that MPC-6827 displays significant activity in inhibiting the growth of a broad spectrum of solid tumour lines in athymic nude mice, including human breast, colon, pancreas, ovarian and mouse melanoma. Additional in vitro studies demonstrated that MPC-6827 exerts its effects by binding of tubulin, thereby inhibiting polymerisation and leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Unlike other tubulin-disrupting cancer treatments, MPC-6827 had efficacy against tumour cells that over-expressed the three main protein transporters responsible for multi drug resistance, indicating that MPC-6827 may prove effective against drug resistant tumours in a clinical setting.

MPC-6827 is one of two compounds currently in clinical trials discovered through EpiCept's Anti-cancer Screening Apoptosis Program (ASAP). MPC-6827 is part of the EP90745 series of apoptosis inducers, which was licensed by EpiCept to Myriad Genetics, Inc. as part of an exclusive, worldwide development and commercialisation agreement. Myriad recently announced that MPC-6827, which is being developed under the trademark Azixa, has a second mode of action due to vascular disruption activity (VDA). The compound is currently being evaluated in two phase II human clinical trials, one in patients with primary brain cancer and the other in brain metastases due to melanoma. EpiCept's licensing agreement with Myriad for Azixa includes milestone payments, and sublicensing income as well as future royalties in the event Myriad's development of Azixa continues to progress successfully.

The Cancer Research article, entitled "MPC-6827, A small molecule inhibitor of microtubule formation that is not a substrate for multi-drug resistance pumps," was co-authored by researchers at EpiCept Corporation, Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the Department of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and Department of Internal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, Austria.